THE PARKWOOD JOURNAL

OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF OSHAWA-PARKWOOD

Mailing Address: 200-481 Taunton Rd W., OSHAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA L1J 0G3

 

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO:

ROTARY – People of Action

Rotary is where neighbours, friends, and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders, and take action to create lasting change.

We're made up of local business, professional, and civic leaders. 

We meet regularly, get to know each other, form friendships and through that, we're able to get things done in our community. 

It's up to YOU.............Join leaders in our community

Be sure to share this with all of your friends and associates and ask them to get in touch with our Club President President Hilda Finnigan at 905-431-4258 or Club Past President Linda Porritt at 905-626-6386 

You are invited to our next Rotary meeting. You may wish to become a Rotarian. Dinner is on us. Isn't it time to give back to your community?.

 

THE OBJECT OF ROTARY

is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

FIRST The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;

SECOND High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful

occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;

THIRD The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;

FOURTH The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of

business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

 

Rotary Code of Conduct provides a framework for ethical behaviour that all Rotarians can use, together with The Four-Way Test, in their business and professional activities.

ROTARY CODE OF CONDUCT

As a Rotarian, I will

1. Exemplify the core value of integrity in all behaviours and activities
2. Use my vocational experience and talents to serve in Rotary
3. Conduct all of my personal, business, and professional affairs ethically, encouraging and fostering high ethical standards as an example to others
4. Be fair in all dealings with others and treat them with the respect due to them as fellow human beings
5. Promote recognition and respect for all occupations which are useful to society
6. Offer my vocational talents: to provide opportunities for young people, to work for the relief of the special needs of others, and to improve the quality of life in my community
7. Honour the trust that Rotary and fellow Rotarians provide and not do anything that will bring disfavour or reflect adversely on Rotary or fellow Rotarians
8. Not seek from a fellow Rotarian a privilege or advantage not normally accorded others in a business or professional relationship

 

THE ROTARY FOUR-WAY TEST

of things we think, say and do:

1. Is it the truth
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

 

SPEAKER: Craft Talk Neil Gonsalves

VP Tess introduced Neil.

Neil Gonsalves is an author, TEDx Speaker, and educator. With more than twenty-five years of experience across corporate leadership and public education, Neil is committed to championing a vision of belonging, collaboration, and shared humanity. He is proud to be a Certified Moral Courage Mentor and a member of Heterodox Academy Canada, two organizations dedicated to constructive and productive dialogue through creative problem-solving, open inquiry, and respect for divergent viewpoints.
 

“I’m not entirely sure I’m supposed to be here tonight.”

 

This simple sentence not only got our attention, but it also introduced us to the complexity of Neil’s life and how the life choices and mistakes he made helped shape him into the man we know today.

He said his “life seems like a series of detours that somehow worked out.” His family came to Canada in 1995, and he finally felt like he was home. Neil’s father was a man who believed in showing up and staying steady. From him, Neil learned to put family first. His father’s sense of duty, responsibility and purpose became Neil’s philosophy.

Those detours? 

• He shared how a diagnosis of a degenerative eye disease turned into a gift when volunteer doctors helped him get his first corneal transplant just days before he went blind. This taught him not to take time for granted.
• As a young immigrant, after working an all-night shift unloading trucks, he kept his promise to take a friend to the airport. He fell asleep and had an accident on the 401. He woke up in Sunnybrook. For some reason, he decided to use his father’s larger car that night. When his father got to the hospital, Neil said how sorry he was for totalling the car. His father answered, “Cars are replaceable.”  Lesson learned.
• His eyesight stopped him from becoming a police officer, but he got a job as a K-9 handler for a small security firm. When that small company was bought by the large corporation, Neil stayed on as Senior Manager.
• This led to a guest lecture at Durham College in the Police Foundations School. That led to his leap of faith to become a lecturer there. His 4-month term became a 20-year career.

He ended his talk with this beautiful sentiment. 

“Today, I teach, I write, and soon I’ll launch a new talk show on a new streaming platform that aims to give a voice to populations who don’t traditionally get the same access. RIVO / The Lens with Neil Gonsalves. I’m not sure any of us fully plan the life we end up living. But we do get opportunities to shape what we do with it, and occasionally to make the path a little easier for the people who come behind us. For me, that’s camaraderie, that’s commitment, that’s community, that’s how I understand service above self. The value of that service makes it worthwhile to continue pretending to be an extrovert. It may even convince me I’m supposed to be here.”

Suzz Sandalwood, Neil’s Partner, thanked him tonight.

 

Before the final bell, Ted asked Camille to update us on the problems in Mexico. Camille explained how the cartels recruit and control. Her family is safe in Mexico City. Thanks, Camille, for this information.

Vice President Tess Pierce rang the bell to end the meeting at 7:40 PM.                                                  

 

IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT, YOU CAN MAKE UP: Go online at www.rotary.org go to the club locator and find a club or clubs near your destination. Or you can add the free App Rotary Club Locator to your phone for instant look up of any club in the world. Please mail or fax your make-ups to Executive Secretary Dave Andrews or give your make-up card to the attendance/registration officer at the next club meeting.